Indoor escape device

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to an indoor escape device which allows the evacuees to pass through a manhole in a slab by which two stories are separated, thereby escaping swiftly to a safety story or zone, one after another, without going from the indoors to the outdoors.

United States Patent" Naka v 5] Feb. 4, 1975 [5 INDOOR ESCAPE DEVICE 876,354 H1908 l-loughton 182/81 Inventor: Hiromitsu Naka No. Dan 2,853,161 9/1958 Mascari 49/505 Shinmachi, Yashiocho, Minami 't -k Sal ama gun Sanama en Japan Primary Exammer-Remaldo P. Machado [2 Flledi g- 1973 Attorney, Agent, or FirmWenderoth, Lind & Ponack [21] Appl. No.: 388,446

Related U.S. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 124,034, March 15, 197i, Pat.

N0. 3,768,593. 7 ABSTRACT [52] U.S. Cl. 182/81, 182/196 The P invelitio" is directed to an indoor escape [51] Int. Cl. E06c l/56 device which allows the evacuees to P through a 58 Field of Search 182/81, 77, 78, 100, 196, manhole in a slab y which stories are separated, 132 70; 49 505 thereby escaping swiftly to a safety story or zone, one after another, without going from the indoors to the [56] References Cited Outdoors- UNITED STATES PATENTS Fiegenbaum 182/70 3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 rNDooR ESCAPE nsvrcr:

This application is a divisional application. of applicants copending application Ser. No. 124,034, filed Mar. I5, 1971 now U.S. Pat. .No. 3,768,593.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an indoor escape device, and more particularly to an emergency installation which enables the evacuees to escape from dangers such as fire, smoke, gas, or water leakage, and ruffians.

The escape devices heretofore found best in buildings have been emergency stairs mounted on the external wall of the building,- or an emergency rope, ladder, and chute or the like. No matter where the emergency stairs are located, in an emergency the evacuees whoare in an area far away from the stairs have a hard time reaching them. Thus, in an emergency, the lives of evacuees who must go to the location where the stairs are positioned are jeopardized. If an emergency occurs in an area close to the stairs, it is even worse due to possible combination of unfavorable conditions, such as the interruption of electric current or the presence of smoke in addition to the instant accident. An emergency ladder or chute must be taken out from a housing or container mounted on the wall at the window, and, after seeing if the site is safe, hung out the window. This requires much time and trouble. Furthermore, if the building is extremely high and there are a large number of evacuees, the use of such ladder or chute is limited to the least extent.

The present invention involves a manhole provided in a slab between two stories or a single veranda slab to give easy access to the upper or lower story or floor, a shell received in the manhole, a cover member mounted on the manhole, an extensible elevating member arranged within or adjacent the manhole, not only for lowering, but also for lifting the evacuees.

The present invention is characterized in that the cover mounted on each of the slabs between the two stories is opened to stretch the elevating member from the manhole to the next floor, thereby allowing the evacuees to escape readily from danger.

According to the present invention, there is no need of massive installations, as for example, emergency stairs attached to the external wall of the building, and the arrangement may be provided in suitable numbers anywhere on the slab, floor, or the veranda of the building to improve emergency capability so that more evacuees can safely, readily, and quickly escape to a safety zone or another floor, in contrast to the prior art in which the emergency exit is limited. In addition, in accordance with the present invention, the evacuees can escape from danger within the building by promptly pulling down a shutter to prevent a fire blaze or smoke from spreading without requiring any care-taker or watchman.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. I-4 are sectional views of several embodiments of the invention which are adapted to open the cover member for the ceiling in cooperation with the floor cover member; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the total escape arrangement which further includes a locking device, alarm device, fire alarm, and fire or smoke sensor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1-4, numeral 1 is a manhole which is bored through a floor slab 2 or a ceiling slab 3 disposed thereunder, and any number of which may be provided at any place as desired, for instance, a corridor, room, or veranda. The slabs are bored so that the openings 1 are in alignment with each other, whereby the evacuees can escape from danger to the other story without going outdoors.

A cover member 4 is pivotally mounted on the floor slab 2 by suitable means, such as a hinge 7 or the like at a pivot axis 9, so as to cover the manhole I on which a flanged frame 6 is mounted. Similarly, a cover member 5 is also hingedly mounted on the ceiling slab 3 so as to-cover the manhole l on which a flanged frame 8 is mounted.

According to the invention, the floor and ceiling cover members 4 and 5 are in cooperative relationship with each other to allow the floor cover member to open with the ceiling member. In the embodiment shown in FIG. I, a spring actuated rod 13 is vertically interposed between the two cover members. The floor cover member 4 is held against the bias of the spring actuated rod 13 by engagement of suitable means with the cover member at its edge. The spring actuated rod 13 is adapted at its lower end to abut against a retainer 15, which is normally biased clockwise and engages a stopper 14 mounted on the ceiling cover member 5. The rod 13 is allowed to project upwardly from the floor slab 2 by opening the cover member 4, while the lower end of the rod is moved away from the retainer 15 to allow it to rotate and to disengage from the stopper 14, thereby rotating and opening the ceiling cover member 5.

In FIG. 2, a suspension rod 16 is shown suspended from the floor cover member 4 and is engaged with a projection formed at its lower end by a locking device 17, such as a catch latch or the like mounted on the ceiling cover member 5. Opening of the cover member 4 lifts the rod 16 to allow the rod to be disengaged from the device 17, thereby opening the ceiling cover member 5.

Referring to the embodiment of FIG. 3, a lever means comprises an arm 18 pivotally mounted on the floor frame 6 at pivot 11, a spring 10 interposed between the arm and the flanged frame to urge the arm counterclockwise, and a lever 12 rigidly connected to the arm and held against its clockwise movement by engaging its hooked end 12 with a pin 19 mounted on the ceiling cover member 5. Opening of the cover member 4 allows the arm 18 and thus the lever 12 to move counterclockwise, thus disengaging the hooked end 12 from the pin 19 to open the ceiling cover member 5.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, slotted arms 20 are mounted on each of the floor and ceiling cover members 4 and 5. Each arm is provided with a slot and is pivotally connected with one end of swingable rod 21 through the slot so as to slidably carry the rod 21.

A link member 22 is provided to swing about its axis 23 between the swingable rods at the ends thereof.

In other words, each rod has one end thereof pivotally mounted in one of the slotted arms and the other end thereof pivotally mounted to one end of the link member 22. With this arrangement, the two cover members 4 and 5 are cooperatively moved and opened.

As described in copending application Ser. No. 124,034, a shell means can be received in the manhole l in the floor and ceiling slab to cover them and partition off the space between the slabs so as to reduce the evacuees fear, and thus facilitate his actions. This shell can take on a variety of forms such as a plurality of frames coupled to one another to form a unitary shell, or the shell could be formed of a corrugated metal, plastic sheet, or elastic sheet, so that its length can be adjusted in accordance with the distance between the slabs.

In addition, a coating material, such as fire-proofing material or heat-resisting material, can be coated on the external or internal surface of the shell to protect the evacuee against fire or smoke, if the flames spread. Furthermore, the shell could be provided with a buffer member integral therewith to protect the evacuee from scratches and bumps when he is escaping through the manhole.

Various forms of an escape unit 32 for leading the evacuee from one story to another are described in applicants copending application Ser. No. 124,034, and are all easily employed with the escape means disclosed in FIGS. 1-4. Each of these is adapted to be extensible and collapsible in use and non-use, and some can be received in the space between the cover members 4 and 5. One example, a knotted rope, is shown in FIG. 3.

In addition, the guide means can be stored in a suitable area other than the space defined between the cover members, such as in a recess in the floor slab or in a recess in a partition wall of the story where the manhole is bored through the floor slab thereof. In use, these guide means are taken out from the recess and lowered upon opening the cover member. This and the use of the various other guide means is more clearly described in applicant's above-mentioned copending application.

The indoor escape system may be required to include many types of control means, as shown in H0. 5, such as a locking device for maintaining closure of the cover member, alarm device, fire alarm, fire or smoke alarm, and any type of electric device electrically connected to a power board in a control room of the building. The alarm device and electric devices provide functions, such as promptly giving alarm and/or warning for fire or smoke to a control room or zones other than the area suffering from an accident in the building and/or disengaging said escape unit from its locking engagement by means ofa control board in said control room.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention which have been described are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications and changes may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An escape system to be positioned between the floor of one story of a building and the ceiling of a story below the first mentioned story, said system comprising:

an escape means including a first frame means adapted to be positioned at one end of a hole formed between a slab of the floor of said one story and the slab of the ceiling of said story below said first mentioned story, and a second frame means adapted to be positioned at the other end of said hole;

a cover member positioned over each of said frames for closing the hole when the system is not in use. each of said cover members being pivotally mounted to its respective frame means;

means operatively connecting said cover members to each other so that when the cover member positioned over said first frame means is opened, the other cover member opens automatically, said means connecting said cover members together comprising a spring biased lever and an abutment means, said lever being biased toward the opening direction of the cover member positioned over said first frame means and said abutment means being mounted on said other cover member, said lever engaging both said abutment means and said cover member positioned over said first frame means when said cover members are closed, whereby when said first mentioned cover member is opened. said lever movesaway from said abutment means releasing said other cover member, and

an escape unit secured within or adjacent said escape means and adapted to extend through at least part of said escape means when said cover members are open for use by the evacuee in passing through said escape means,

2. An escape system to be positioned between the floor of one story of a building and the ceiling of a story below the first mentioned story, said system comprising:

an escape means including a first frame means adapted to be positioned at one end of a hole formed between a slab of the floor of said one story and the slab of the ceiling of said story below said first mentioned story, and a second frame means adapted to be positioned at the other end of said hole;

a cover member positioned over each of said frames for closing the hole when the system is not in use. each of said cover members being pivotally mounted to its respective frame means;

means operatively connecting said cover members to each other so that when the cover member positioned over said first frame means is opened, the other cover member opens automatically, said means connecting said cover members together comprising a suspension rod pivotally connected at one end thereof to said cover member positioned over said first frame means, the other end of said rod having a projection thereon and a catch latch mounted on said other cover member, said projection fitting into said catch latch when said cover members are closed, whereby when said first mentioned cover member is opened, said projection moves out from said catch latch releasing said other cover member; and

an escape unit secured within or adjacent said escape means and adapted to extend through at least part of said escape means when said cover members are open for use by the evacuee in passing through said escape means.

3. An escape system to be positioned between the floor of one story ofa building and the ceiling of a story below the first mentioned story, said system comprisan escape means including a first frame means adapted to be positioned at one end of a hole formed between a slab of the floor of said one story and the slab of the ceiling of said story below said first mentioned story, and a second frame means adapted to be positioned at the other end of said hole;

a cover member positioned over each of said frames for closing the hole when the system is not in use, each of said cover members being pivotally mounted to its respective frame means;

means operatively connecting said cover members to each other so that when the cover member positioned over said first frame means is opened, the other cover member opens automatically, said means connecting said cover members together comprising a slotted arm mounted on each of said cover members, a pair of rods, each having one end thereof pivotally mounted in one of said arms and a link member pivotally connected at the ends thereof to the other ends of said rods, said link member being mounted so as to rotate about a point substantially at the center thereof; and

an escape unit secured within or adjacent said escape means and adapted to extend through at least part of said escape means when said cover members are open for use by the evacuee in passing through said escape means. 

1. An escape system to be positioned between the floor of one story of a building and the ceiling of a story below the first mentioned story, said system comprising: an escape means including a first frame means adapted to be positioned at one end of a hole formed between a slab of the floor of said one story and the slab of the ceiling of said story below said first mentioned story, and a second frame means adapted to be positioned at the other end of said hole; a cover member positioned over each of said frames for closing the hole when the system is not in use, each of said cover members being pivotally mounted to its respective frame means; means operatively connecting said cover members to each other so that when the cover member positioned over said first frame means is opened, the other cover member opens automatically, said means connecting said cover members together comprising a spring biased lever and an abutment means, said lever being biased toward the opening direction of the cover member positioned over said first frame means and said abutment means being mounted on said other cover member, said lever engaging both said abutment means and said cover member positioned over said first frame means when said cover members are closed, whereby when said first mentioned cover member is opened, said lever moves away from said abutment means releasing said other cover member; and an escape unit secured within or adjacent said escape means and adapted to extend through at least part of said escape means when said cover members are open for use by the evacuee in passing through said escape means.
 2. An escape system to be positioned between the floor oF one story of a building and the ceiling of a story below the first mentioned story, said system comprising: an escape means including a first frame means adapted to be positioned at one end of a hole formed between a slab of the floor of said one story and the slab of the ceiling of said story below said first mentioned story, and a second frame means adapted to be positioned at the other end of said hole; a cover member positioned over each of said frames for closing the hole when the system is not in use, each of said cover members being pivotally mounted to its respective frame means; means operatively connecting said cover members to each other so that when the cover member positioned over said first frame means is opened, the other cover member opens automatically, said means connecting said cover members together comprising a suspension rod pivotally connected at one end thereof to said cover member positioned over said first frame means, the other end of said rod having a projection thereon and a catch latch mounted on said other cover member, said projection fitting into said catch latch when said cover members are closed, whereby when said first mentioned cover member is opened, said projection moves out from said catch latch releasing said other cover member; and an escape unit secured within or adjacent said escape means and adapted to extend through at least part of said escape means when said cover members are open for use by the evacuee in passing through said escape means.
 3. An escape system to be positioned between the floor of one story of a building and the ceiling of a story below the first mentioned story, said system comprising: an escape means including a first frame means adapted to be positioned at one end of a hole formed between a slab of the floor of said one story and the slab of the ceiling of said story below said first mentioned story, and a second frame means adapted to be positioned at the other end of said hole; a cover member positioned over each of said frames for closing the hole when the system is not in use, each of said cover members being pivotally mounted to its respective frame means; means operatively connecting said cover members to each other so that when the cover member positioned over said first frame means is opened, the other cover member opens automatically, said means connecting said cover members together comprising a slotted arm mounted on each of said cover members, a pair of rods, each having one end thereof pivotally mounted in one of said arms and a link member pivotally connected at the ends thereof to the other ends of said rods, said link member being mounted so as to rotate about a point substantially at the center thereof; and an escape unit secured within or adjacent said escape means and adapted to extend through at least part of said escape means when said cover members are open for use by the evacuee in passing through said escape means. 